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American Morning

Interview With Sen. Pat Roberts

Aired June 05, 2003 - 09:15   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: U.N. inspectors found no evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. That's what the chief inspector, Hans Blix, is expected to say when he gives his final report today. It's also believed that he will tell the U.N. Security Council that Iraq did not clear up questions about its past weapons programs. American forces have not yet turned up any weapons there either, and that's causing the heat to be turned up somewhat considerably right now on the Bush administration.
The Senate Intelligence Committee plans to review the prewar reports about the intelligence that was used to justify the case against Iraq.

Let's talk more about that.

The Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Senator Pat Roberts of Kansas, our guest here on AMERICAN MORNING.

Nice to see you in person, Senator.

Good morning to you.

SEN. PAT ROBERTS (R-KS), CHAIRMAN, INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Thank you.

It's good to have the sun shine out in Washington.

HEMMER: Yes, for a change, huh?

ROBERTS: Yes, indeed.

HEMMER: Listen, a bit later today your counterparts on the Democratic side are getting together and you're going to decide whether or not you'll progress with hearings.

What's the possibility right now that hearings will take place?

ROBERTS: Well, I'm not sure we need hearings at the present time, but what we do need to do is do our regular congressional oversight responsibility, and that's have a thorough -- and I mean real thorough and complete review of all the documentation that led to the statements by the secretary of state, the president or anybody in the administration.

Let's do our homework first and then, of course, if that would indicate something, that we need a hearing, we can have a hearing or any further action. HEMMER: Why would you give pause to a hearing right now?

ROBERTS: Well, basically, you know, let's do the homework. The DCI, the director of Central Intelligence, George Tenet, is going to provide us -- which is quite, just quite a lot of material -- exactly all of the backup material that led to those statements. We should go over that anyway. Let's go over that, do our homework. We will thoroughly review that and then if a hearing it warranted, we'll have a hearing.

HEMMER: And what about this report today in the "Washington Post" suggesting the vice president, going back to August of last year, made numerous trips to the CIA and perhaps influenced some of the analysts over there based on that intelligence?

ROBERTS: I'm not sure...

HEMMER: What kind of credence do you give to that report?

ROBERTS: I don't put any credence on influencing the analysts. We would be in one heck of a shape if the vice president, with all of his security, what, expertise and being the head of the Department of Defense could not go to the CIA. I've been to the CIA numerous times. I don't think they felt any undue pressure from me or, for that matter, the vice president.

As a matter of fact, I think that's a good thing. So consequently, I'm not really worried about that. The analysts involved, yes, there's a lot of pressure. There should be undue pressure. We have to find the weapons of mass destruction. They represent a grave threat.

HEMMER: Why do you believe they have not been found yet?

ROBERTS: Well, I think you've got to figure out that Saddam Hussein really put the program together. When UNSCOM one was in the country, way back after the first Gulf War, he had four years to hide it or disperse it or to bury it or to, you know, ship it offshore or whatever. But we have the trailers. We have all the defensive gear in the Republican Guard buildings. I think it's a matter of time. We have the new Iraqi Survey Group. They're scientists now. They have more expertise. Let's also understand that we have a shooting war still going on over there and an inspector could become a target.

So let's let this work out. After UNSCOM one it took them three months to say he had no nuclear capabilities. Six months later or three months later, at a six month's period, they said whoops, he does have nuclear capability.

I'm sure that we will find out what happened to the weapons of mass destruction.

HEMMER: There is a suggestion that after the U.N. inspectors were pulled out of Iraq five years ago in 1998 that the intelligence fell off the table. Do you believe that perhaps because the inspectors were not on the ground for about that four or five year period that the U.S. intelligence lacked over that time?

ROBERTS: I doubt if we lapsed too much. We didn't have enough human intelligence. Of course, that's very difficult in that part of the world. We were involved in many other things that we thought were higher profile at that particular time, although the Clinton administration kept making the same assertions that the Bush administration has.

But we have ramped that up considerably and I think this new Iraqi Survey Group, 1,400 people, eventually I think they'll be successful.

HEMMER: On another topic here, there's an excavation happening right now in western Baghdad, the Mansour neighborhood. I talked to one of your counterparts last hour about it, Senator Rockefeller. Do you believe right now there is intelligence out there that suggests nothing has been seen or heard of Saddam from Saddam Hussein and perhaps he was in that building when it was bombed back on the 7th of April?

ROBERTS: How about a frank answer? I don't know. But I think we're going to find out.

HEMMER: Senator, thank you for joining us here.

ROBERTS: You bet.

HEMMER: Good luck to you, all right?

ROBERTS: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired June 5, 2003 - 09:15   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: U.N. inspectors found no evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. That's what the chief inspector, Hans Blix, is expected to say when he gives his final report today. It's also believed that he will tell the U.N. Security Council that Iraq did not clear up questions about its past weapons programs. American forces have not yet turned up any weapons there either, and that's causing the heat to be turned up somewhat considerably right now on the Bush administration.
The Senate Intelligence Committee plans to review the prewar reports about the intelligence that was used to justify the case against Iraq.

Let's talk more about that.

The Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Senator Pat Roberts of Kansas, our guest here on AMERICAN MORNING.

Nice to see you in person, Senator.

Good morning to you.

SEN. PAT ROBERTS (R-KS), CHAIRMAN, INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Thank you.

It's good to have the sun shine out in Washington.

HEMMER: Yes, for a change, huh?

ROBERTS: Yes, indeed.

HEMMER: Listen, a bit later today your counterparts on the Democratic side are getting together and you're going to decide whether or not you'll progress with hearings.

What's the possibility right now that hearings will take place?

ROBERTS: Well, I'm not sure we need hearings at the present time, but what we do need to do is do our regular congressional oversight responsibility, and that's have a thorough -- and I mean real thorough and complete review of all the documentation that led to the statements by the secretary of state, the president or anybody in the administration.

Let's do our homework first and then, of course, if that would indicate something, that we need a hearing, we can have a hearing or any further action. HEMMER: Why would you give pause to a hearing right now?

ROBERTS: Well, basically, you know, let's do the homework. The DCI, the director of Central Intelligence, George Tenet, is going to provide us -- which is quite, just quite a lot of material -- exactly all of the backup material that led to those statements. We should go over that anyway. Let's go over that, do our homework. We will thoroughly review that and then if a hearing it warranted, we'll have a hearing.

HEMMER: And what about this report today in the "Washington Post" suggesting the vice president, going back to August of last year, made numerous trips to the CIA and perhaps influenced some of the analysts over there based on that intelligence?

ROBERTS: I'm not sure...

HEMMER: What kind of credence do you give to that report?

ROBERTS: I don't put any credence on influencing the analysts. We would be in one heck of a shape if the vice president, with all of his security, what, expertise and being the head of the Department of Defense could not go to the CIA. I've been to the CIA numerous times. I don't think they felt any undue pressure from me or, for that matter, the vice president.

As a matter of fact, I think that's a good thing. So consequently, I'm not really worried about that. The analysts involved, yes, there's a lot of pressure. There should be undue pressure. We have to find the weapons of mass destruction. They represent a grave threat.

HEMMER: Why do you believe they have not been found yet?

ROBERTS: Well, I think you've got to figure out that Saddam Hussein really put the program together. When UNSCOM one was in the country, way back after the first Gulf War, he had four years to hide it or disperse it or to bury it or to, you know, ship it offshore or whatever. But we have the trailers. We have all the defensive gear in the Republican Guard buildings. I think it's a matter of time. We have the new Iraqi Survey Group. They're scientists now. They have more expertise. Let's also understand that we have a shooting war still going on over there and an inspector could become a target.

So let's let this work out. After UNSCOM one it took them three months to say he had no nuclear capabilities. Six months later or three months later, at a six month's period, they said whoops, he does have nuclear capability.

I'm sure that we will find out what happened to the weapons of mass destruction.

HEMMER: There is a suggestion that after the U.N. inspectors were pulled out of Iraq five years ago in 1998 that the intelligence fell off the table. Do you believe that perhaps because the inspectors were not on the ground for about that four or five year period that the U.S. intelligence lacked over that time?

ROBERTS: I doubt if we lapsed too much. We didn't have enough human intelligence. Of course, that's very difficult in that part of the world. We were involved in many other things that we thought were higher profile at that particular time, although the Clinton administration kept making the same assertions that the Bush administration has.

But we have ramped that up considerably and I think this new Iraqi Survey Group, 1,400 people, eventually I think they'll be successful.

HEMMER: On another topic here, there's an excavation happening right now in western Baghdad, the Mansour neighborhood. I talked to one of your counterparts last hour about it, Senator Rockefeller. Do you believe right now there is intelligence out there that suggests nothing has been seen or heard of Saddam from Saddam Hussein and perhaps he was in that building when it was bombed back on the 7th of April?

ROBERTS: How about a frank answer? I don't know. But I think we're going to find out.

HEMMER: Senator, thank you for joining us here.

ROBERTS: You bet.

HEMMER: Good luck to you, all right?

ROBERTS: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com